Hickory Creek, Neosho, Missouri

by Alan Luecke
(Kansas City, MO)

First Hickory Creek Rainbow

Spotted Bass (maybe Ozark Bass)

Mature Striped Shiner

Cardinal Shiner

Along with two friends, Chris and Kevin from the the local flyfishing club (Heart of America Flyfishers), I made a day trip to Hickory Creek in Neosho, Mo. It is a White Ribbon stream which means it has no bait restrictions and a daily limit of four trout. In the winter it is catch and release. The creek is spring fed and has active trout year round.

Because of the springs, Neosho happens to be the sight of the oldest and still active Neosho National Fish Hatchery, founded in 1888. Hickory Creek is managed by the Missouri Dept. of Conservation. The managed stream is 1.7 miles long. and runs down the eastern edge of the city of Neosho. A city park and bike trail run along most of the creek.

We were fishing the last week of catch and release and found trout all along the creek. There is a variety of rocks, rootballs, riffles and pools. Some trout were grouped up, recent stockers, but many had found a home, often with challenging cover. We all caught some trout, mostly on nymphs and buggers. Chris got a very nice fish on a dry at the end of the day, but there was little rising activity.

Because of the easy access, Hickory Creek has the reputation of being highly pressured and over fished. I'm sure there are summer weekends when this is true. Go in the winter. We saw one other fisherman all day. There are a lot of spots to fish. A little walking and wading will get you to a quiet place.

Now for the part I'm excited about. There are a lot of fish in Hickory Creek's clear water besides those pesky trout. This is a true Ozark spring creek and species rich. I caught five species and spotted a total of 10 or 12, and the sunfish aren't out yet! It has clear water, easy access and is very wadable. It's an easy two and a half hour drive down I-49 from Kansas City. It's a half hour from Capps Creek which is a half hour from Crane Creek and Roaring River, a good neighborhood. I'm hoping to mount a multi-species/ micro expedition when the stream wakes up a little more.

We had a very nice day in a very nice new place.

Now I feel like I need to defend Hickory Creek and rant a bit. In 2009 two Missouri fly fishing friends began what they call the Missouri Trout Odyssey. They see how many trout streams they can fish in 3 or 4 days. It's fun, crazy stuff and they usually make over twenty spots. On their first trip Neosho was the end of a long drive during the long third day and they got skunked. There was bitter talk in the truck and Hickory Creek was referred to as "the expletive deletedhole". Since then they have been back and said nice things but words never die on the internet. On several occasions I've heard people say, "Oh, Hickory Creek is awful, the locals fish it out, it's really bad". This is from people who have never been there, but happened to read a post by some grumpy guys after a long day. Don't believe everything you read and mostly be nice.

Comments for Hickory Creek, Neosho, Missouri

If a gem of a trout stream has a bad rap, I'm not sure I'd want to try to correct it. I think I'd let people drive right past it. I might even agree with them, saying "these are not the droids you're looking for" or something to that effect.

Mar 06, 2016

Repby: Jay

I read about one of my favorite streams in a guide book about how there are barely any trout in the 20 mile stretch of water. I often think about the review as I pull out fish after fish.

Mar 06, 2016

Move along folks, nothing to see hereby: Alan Luecke

I thought about that right after I put up the post and for me as a fisherman it makes sense. But I saw a guy out walking go twenty feet off the trail to pick one piece of paper and put it in the trashcan (which had a fresh liner). The people of Neosho are working hard and I've got to give them their props.

Mar 07, 2016

Hickory Creekby: Jeremy

A few years ago, a friend and I went on a fishing excursion which included stops at Bennett Spring, Crane Creek, Roaring River, Norfork River, and Capps Creek. If we do it again, we'll have to add Hickory Creek to the mix (your post is already generating more interest in that fishery!)

Mar 08, 2016

Very Niceby: Rob Ruff

Outstanding! I was just further to the east in Crane over the past weekend. Truly a treasure to see these types of streams in Missouri.

Mar 09, 2016

Beautiful fish!by: Paul Tronnes

Makes me look at a shiner minnow in a whole new light. That's what I love about this sport. Thanks for the post!

May 10, 2017

neoshoby: rick

Just moved to Neosho about a year ago. never fished the river yet and was wanting to know the best place to start???